Used prom dress sale to benefit school, community

Published 12:00 am, Monday, February 24, 2014

BETHALTO — The Civic Memorial High School freshman class is hoping to ensure everyone who wants to go to prom has that opportunity.

The group is having a used prom dress sale March 1 to raise money for its class, but the sale will also be a chance for area girls to find a dress without the expense of buying one from a dress shop. Civic Memorial freshman class vice president Cassidy Reynolds said the exorbitant prices shouldn’t keep girls from being able to find a dress they love.

“Everything’s going up,” Reynolds said. “All the prices are up. All the dresses we sell are going to be inexpensive. That way, anybody can go. Prom dresses are, what, $500? That’s ungodly. That’s crazy. That’s a better reason to do it than just to raise money for our class.”

Used dress sales have become more popular in recent years, with class president Cassidy Rogers saying they actually got the idea after visiting similar sales in Jerseyville and Roxana. Seeing the turnout at those events, Rogers and her classmates thought it would be a good way to raise some money for their class.

“We really liked how they did things,” Rogers said. “We thought it was a really good idea, especially because they had awesome turnouts.”

The girls started by advertising the sale at 11 local high schools. As word has gotten out, Rogers said the school’s office has been busy fielding questions from girls and their parents interested in selling dresses. Around 50 dresses have already been entered, Rogers said, and they’re hoping to reach 100 by the day of the event.

Because dresses often get worn once and end up in a closet somewhere, Reynolds said she’s heard for a lot of girls who are looking forward to the sale.

“They have no other way to sell them besides dress pages on Facebook,” Reynolds said. “They can all get it locally, so I think a lot of girls are really excited about it.”

Rogers’ mother, Lisa, said she’s planning to enter some dresses. Reynolds said she’s going to get into the act as well, selling some of her older sister’s dresses as well as her sister’s friends’ dresses.

Along with selling, Reynolds may also do some shopping at the sale.

“Yeah, I probably will,” Reynolds said. “They’re all going to be cheap, so might as well get my dress for next year.”

One way in which the sale will differ from those at other schools is the exclusion of a fashion show. Rogers said they opted against having girls model the dresses, preferring instead to have interested buyers try on the dresses themselves.

“I wanted the girls to try on the dresses and see if they liked it on them, not on someone else,” Rogers said.

Interested participants can enter a dress for $10. Each subsequent dress up to five entered costs $5, and any dresses after five are free to sell. Sellers can list the dresses for however much they want; Lisa Rogers said some dresses will likely still cost a few hundred dollars but she expects some to be as low as $50. Long, short, straight or hoop dresses are accepted.

The sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Civic Memorial’s new gymnasium. Admission is free, and people can come and go as they wish. Dresses can be dropped off at the gym after 8:30 a.m. on the day of the event, or sellers can arrange a different drop-off time with Lisa Rogers in advance. For more information, call Lisa Rogers at 618-377-8810.

Nathan Grimm may be reached at 618-463-2515 or on Twitter @GrimmTelegraph.